All That Remains

One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn’t. I found it invigorating! – Andrew Marr * BBC Radio 4 ‘Start the Week’ *
Black’s utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming. As she herself says, it is “as much about life as about death”. – PD Smith * Guardian *
An engrossing memoir … an affecting mix of the personal and professional. – Erica Wagner * Financial Times *
A model of how to write about the effect of human evil without losing either objectivity or sensitivity … Heartening and anything but morbid… Leaves you thinking about what kind of human qualities you value, what kinds of people you actually want to be with. – Rowan Williams * New Statesman *
For someone whose job is identifying corpses, Sue Black is a cheerful soul … All That Remains feels like every episode of Silent Witness, pre-fictionalized. Except, you know, really good. – Helen Rumbelow * The Times *
This fascinating look by a world-leading forensic scientist at what the dead can tell us is a real eye-opener… Sue Black must be one of the most unusual people in Britain… extraordinary…part meditation, part popular science and part memoir…the book offers a close-up and startlingly clear view of a subject that makes most of us look away. – James McConnachie * Sunday Times *
The real thing here is not the cause of death, but the nature of the life. Black is genuinely moving about the respect we should have for the dead … There is much to admire in this book. * Scotsman *
Poignant and thoughtprovoking… it is the book’s humanity which will connect with readers. * Scottish Daily Mail *
Let [Sue Black] take you by the hand and lead you on a journey which will inspire your awe and devotion … A wonderful surprise of a book. – Brian Masters * The Tablet *
Most of us are terrified of death, but Sue Black shows us that death is in fact a wondrous process, intimately tied with life itself. Written with warmth and humanity, All That Remains reveals her life among the dead, who can surely count her as their best friend. – Tess Gerritsen

Professor Lady Sue Black

Professor Lady Sue Black is a globally recognized expert in anatomy and forensic anthropology. She holds the position of President at St John’s College, Oxford, and formerly served as Pro-Vice Chancellor for Engagement at Lancaster University. From 2003 to 2018, she was the Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee. In 2026, she was appointed Squadron Honorary Colonel of 2 (City of Dundee and Highland) Signal Squadron, 32 Signal Regiment Army Reserve, and became the new Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University.

Professor Black was instrumental as the lead anthropologist for the British Forensic Team in war crimes investigations in Kosovo. She was also among the first forensic scientists to respond to the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand.

For her significant contributions to forensic anthropology, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

She is the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Sunday Times bestsellers:

• All That Remains
• Written in Bone
• An Expert Witness: Forensic Science on Trial

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